Pint on Cask from Three Legged Mare, York, England (£2.50):Dark ruby to black with a quarter centimetre tall head that is a creamy white and holds quite well, leaving lots of lacing on the glass too.

Dark chocolate and some sugar hits you upfront, with some mild hops and a few earthy malts as well. There is a few fruits lingering as well as a creamy, roasted malt aroma.

Dark malts and some stronger cocoa make an appearance along with a sweet, almost creamy taste of chocolate and some coffee. There is the roasted malts from the nose as well, plus a nutty flavour and some barely and fruits towards the end.

Soft carbonation on top of a medium to full body and mild bitterness with a generally smooth feel on the mouth and some faint sweetness.

Dark and quite sweet with a great body and quite a rich, flavoursome taste that is very easy to drink and quite enjoyable. One of the better cask beers I've had and another I wouldn't might trying a bottle of in future.

This review is an unabashed attempt to level-out the ridiculous reviews of bottles that are 12-15 years old. This beer shouldn't be aged and those that have and then have unfairly rated it should be ashamed. If I came on here and slated an aged bottle of pliny then I'd get slated in return, so why is this any different. To quote a previous reviewer. 'suck it'.

Presentation: 500ml brown pop top with cool label. Best by June 28 2012. Brought this back with me from England. Loved this on cask in 2005; let's see what the bottled version's like! Poured into my Black Sheep Riggwelter tulip pint at true cellar temperature.

Smell: Mild roast up front; not as sharp as a brown porter, though a bit more than your typical brown ale. Hints of milk chocolate and some nutty tones as well. Wee bit of dark fruitiness as well. Overall, this is rich, reasonably complex, and quite pleasant. B to B+

Taste: Somewhere between a brown porter and a nut brown ale. There's quite a surprising bitterness here, however. The malt bill includes pale, crystal, and chocolate, and I'm willing to bet that there's a decent bit of the latter in here. Yet there's also a strong, fruity hop bitterness here as well (the hop bill includes Challenger, Fuggles, and Bramling Cross). No idea on the IBU's here, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was somewhere in the 30s or low 40s. There's a nice bit of roast and maltiness here, but the bitterness is surprisingly dominant here. Overall, it's a good beer, but it's a bit unbalanced (IMO) towards the hops. Still, very nice malt character as well.

Mouthfeel: A bit over-carbed in the bottle; this is better on cask, obviously, but this is not a bad carbonation level for this style of beer. Other than that, it's fairly rich and full for the gravity.

Overall: Is this the same, damn-near life-changing beer I had back in 2005 on cask at the York Brewery? Well, not quite. I managed to pop into the brewery this past summer to grab a half-pint after a whirlwind tour of York's city center, and I thought it was pretty good, if not remarkable. I also had a bottle this summer in York and it was...meh. This, on the other hand (I believe from a fresher batch) is really quite tasty, if, as I said, a bit more bitter than I'd like for the style.

The nose has actually held up (or changed into something) quite nicely, consisting of lots of dark fruits, namely figs and dates, a bit of earth and leaves, and some alcohol-soaked cherry. Dare I say...I like it?

The flavor, however, has not held up nearly as nicely. There's a huge amount of oxidation and seems a bit metallic--this tastes like how rust looks.

Thin to medium mouthfeel with very little, if any, carbonation.

This one's seen better days, though it wasn't even the most vile beer I drank that evening!

Vintage 98' brought to a bottleshare by MrVonzipper. Who brings a bottle to a bottleshare that expired in 1999? I will tell you who, a guy whose collection is so vast that he feels pity on most of us for never even seeing some of these bottles that he shows up with, not one bottle, but 3, that expired in 1999. Yeah, thats right bitches: suck one.

Look: Pours a coca cola brown with no head

Smell: Dark fruits raisins plums and dates. Pretty decent smell for being as old as it is

Taste: This beer which goes without saying is past its prime. But the beer did have some nice tobacco and leather notes

Mouthfeel: Full body and no carbonation

Overall: This beer is 13 years old and I can't believe I had the chance to actually drink this. This is one of those beers that I never thought I would be able to try but thanks to MrVonzipper I got the chance and I am eternally in his debt. Oh yeah the beer SUCKS

It's my 50th review! I haven't written about beer from my nearest city yet, but I shall rectify this omission immediately. For those who are not familiar with York's most famous ghostly legend, it tells of a lost roman legion who were seen in the cellar of the treasurer's house. The individual who saw them observed that they were only visible from the knees upwards. It transpired that the path of an ancient roman road lay beneath the house, and had the soldiers been fully visible they would have been marching along it. They've never been seen since, so who knows the truth...but Centurion's Ghost Ale is named after this tale.

A 500ml bottle with a BB date of March 2012. The label tells the story of York's ghostly roman legion.

Poured into a Sam Smith's pint glass. A deep brown hue with a hint of ruby. Light carbonation and a finger of off-white foam that leaves fleetingly. A fantastic aroma of roasted malt with hints of burnt coffee, caramel and toffee sweetness. Rich and enticing.

A distinctive roasted malt flavour with an underlying sweet character. Notes of coffee and caramel, accompanied by a bitter hoppy finish. Complex and nicely balanced. Mouthfeel is smooth and slightly astringent. Leaves an aftertaste of bitterness and burnt notes.

An excellent ale - I reckon this to be the best of York brewery's fine offerings. It has a rich flavour that would round off a session nicely. Well worth seeking out...

I really enjoyed this a lot on cask at the Brick Store Pub. Gravity pour as well, which was nice. Pours a beautiful very dark brown, almost black, with ruby highlights. Has a relatively thick pancake head that is off-white. Some nice lacing. Smells grainy, including a touch of grain sourness, as well as some gentle cocoa and roasted notes. Perhaps a little touch of coffee as well. The taste is really very nice- rich and full, but smooth and creamy, with a pleasant light nuttiness, more cocoa notes, and some very light creamy roastiness. Sweet and creamy on the finish with some light earthy hops. There is a touch of copper throughout, as well as some subdued dried fruit. Very pleasant. Pleasantly smooth and creamy in the mouth, and just wonderful overall.

Cask at the Yorkshire Terrier pub, York, June 2010... served at room temperature...

Poured a deep dark burgundy red / almost completely black colour... Mocha tan head poured very tight, thick and foamy with a meringue like top.. this faded slowly to good one finger covering... some decent lacing clings to the glass throughout...

A - A dark brown body, topped with an off white head of foam that leaves excellent lace as it settles slowly.

S - A slightly sweet aroma of malt with notes of red apple and lightly musty hops. Some toffee in the background.

T - Dry, toasty malt up front with just a bit of toffee. Some dry caramel in the middle that lasts through the finish. Musty hops and a fairly strong bitterness balance out the malt along with a hint of fruity yeast that lingers on the palate.

M - Medium body, low carbonation, and a dry finish.

D - This is a very nice cask ale with a excellent malt character. The combination of light toffee and red apple yeast character is perfect and manages to work with the mouthfeel to create a very satisfying drinking experience. The bitterness is stiff, but just enough so to balance everything out and make for a quaffable brew. In many ways, this is exactly the sort of beer that I think of when I imagine drinking in a British pub and I will gladly drink it again whenever I have the chance.

T - Interesting mix of different English flavors. Initially there is a lot of earthy and nutty taste with mild dark and caramel malt bringing some sweetness. Some chocolate malt and a bit of a roasted feel, somewhat similar to an English Stout with more coming out mid-sip. Some grassy and earthy hops come out.

D - Quite drinkable with a nice mix of dark mild and stout flavors. Light and easy on the tongue but it has enough complexity to be interesting that builds as you drink it.

Notes: Best before 28/August/2010. Very enjoyable beer to drink. It's definitely English although I don't think it fits neatly into a style. Well balanced and very enjoyable beer. Worth grabbing one if you can.